Alex J. Pollock

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Alex J. Pollock is a Resident Fellow at AEI. He joined AEI in 2004 after thirty-five years in banking. He was president and chief executive officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago from 1991 to 2004. He is the author of numerous articles on financial systems and the organizer of the “Deflating Bubble” series of AEI conferences. In 2007, he developed a one-page mortgage form to help borrowers understand their mortgage obligations. At AEI, he focuses on financial policy issues, including housing finance, government-sponsored enterprises, retirement finance, corporate governance, accounting standards, and the banking system. He is a director of the CME Group, the Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation, the International Union for Housing Finance, and the chairman of the board of the Great Books Foundation.

Economics, U.S. Economy

A dime is what a penny was

Alex J. Pollock | February 8, 2013, 9:30 am

The Royal Canadian Mint recently ended its distribution of pennies. (A Canadian dollar is worth about the same as a US dollar and one Canadian cent the same as a US cent.) Australia and New Zealand have also dispensed with … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

Double taxation of dividends: Going in the wrong direction

Alex J. Pollock | January 3, 2013, 1:28 pm

From an economic and financial perspective, one of the worst things about Washington’s “fiscal cliff” tax deal is that it increases the double taxation of corporate dividends. Adding to the 35% that dividends are first taxed at the corporate level, … read more >

Economics, U.S. Economy

The 1-page mortgage form rises again?

Alex J. Pollock | December 14, 2012, 10:35 am

The new bureaucracy of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has discovered how hard it is to develop single, mandated financial disclosure forms that are effective and meet the requirements or demands of all the constituents. The CFPB has therefore … read more >

Economics, Financial Services

The Shakespearean tragedy of Fannie Mae

Alex J. Pollock | October 25, 2012, 1:52 pm

The following is an excerpt from remarks by Alex J. Pollock on Bob Hagerty’s “The Fateful History of Fannie Mae”: Bob’s book is full of information, but in addition, it represents an underlying drama—in fact, a Shakespearean tragedy in five … read more >

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